This is Hospitality: Dom Taylor – ‘Food brings people together’

For Dom Taylor, the kitchen has always been more than a workplace – it’s where he creates a like-minded community.

“Food brings people together,” he said. “As a child, I saw the love that was in the kitchen and around the table, and now, working in hospitality, I get to be that person that brings people together. It’s rewarding and I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else.”

Taylor says that guests often don’t realise the hard work that goes on behind the scenes: “People just want jerk chicken – they don’t understand the sourcing of ingredients, the ordering, the staff labour costs and everything else that it takes to run a seamless business. They don’t understand why you can’t just chuck it on the grill and deliver it with perfect service every time.

“That disconnect – I understand it, but it’s so nuanced, and I see operators and consumers get lost in that communication and translation,” he added. “But that’s hospitality, it’s what I love and that’s why I do it: to try to manage those details so it becomes seamless and guests enjoy the craft and the food.”

In recent years, Taylor has noticed that customers have become more curious about what inspires a chef’s creativity. “They want to feel involved in the creation and part of that journey. That’s why social media is so big, because people want that experience of connection,” he says. “Hospitality has taught me that people want to connect – we’re all connected and food is a medium in how we do that.”

Taylor is known for his Caribbean cuisine and won Channel 4’s Five Star Kitchen: Britain’s Next Great Chef competition in 2023, and subsequently ran a residency at the Langham, London hotel. He is about to take the Good Front Room to a permanent 80-cover site in Dalston, due to open this month.

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